“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!” – Samuel Adams

Mitt Romney is a clever and talented man. But, as was evident in the most recent Republican debate, he should not become our next president.

Why?

Eight of ten Americans say the country is on the wrong track.

We must consider clearly what kind of individual we need as president to take on the prodigious challenges facing us to get back on track.

We need a leader prepared to tell the American people what they don’t want to hear. We need a leader obsessed with truth, not focus groups. We need a leader whose passion is not becoming president but saving America.

I just don’t see these vital characteristics in Romney. The opposite. As we know, he has a history of flip flopping on key issues — such as same sex marriage and abortion.

Most recently, he sat out, obviously intentionally, the whole critical debate on the debt ceiling.

And, perhaps of greatest immediate material concern, he continues to refuse to repudiate the health care system he set up in Massachusetts. Yet he says he wants to repeal Obamacare, which is a carbon copy of Romneycare.

Let’s understand today’s leadership challenge this way.

How can we figure that, on one hand, polls show that Americans see our nation in dismal shape and headed in the wrong direction, yet at the same time other polls show they want moderation and compromise in policy?

There are two answers to this puzzle.

First, we are in a paradoxical situation in which most Americans today personally benefit from the very spending and programs that are bleeding us and strangling us to death.

Almost 70 percent of federal spending today — the spending we all know must be cut if we are to survive — consists of transfer payments to individuals. Fifty years ago transfer payments to individuals consisted of less than 30 percent of federal spending.

And what overwhelming do these payments to individuals consist of that dominate federal spending? Entitlements. Social Security and Medicare.

In polling just released by Gallup asking what actions should be taken to reduce the federal debt, the most favored idea is raising taxes on the wealthy and the least favored idea is reforming Social Security and Medicare to reduce their costs.

Even if we were all ideologically disposed to address our growing pile of debt by raising taxes on the wealthy, we couldn’t even begin to raise the amount of money that would be needed.

There is only one way we can address this debt. And that is by reforming the programs that account for the lion’s share of spending. The very programs that most Americans personally benefit from — Social Security and Medicare.

It should be clear that a bold and talented leader — one who is prepared to tell the truth to the American people and who can inspire their trust to take on the very programs from which they personally benefit — is who we need.

The other reason Americans lean instinctively against the very ideas and leaders that they really need is the liberal mainstream media.

The latest example of this problem is Newsweek’s grotesque cover portrait of Michele Bachmann, showing a bizarre deer-in-the-headlights picture of this beautiful woman with a caption – “The Queen of Rage.”

Of course Michele Bachmann is enraged. Every normal American who cares about earning a living and about our future is enraged.

So there’s the challenge. Republicans need to pick a candidate who can sell Americans on what they instinctively won’t want to do and do it in a liberal media environment hostile to any candidate willing to tell the truth.

A clever candidate, like Romney, may exploit current dissatisfaction and get nominated, and maybe elected, by smooth talking and avoiding hard truths.

But then we’ll have a leader who won’t lead and where will we be?

Star Parker is president of the Coalition on Urban Renewal & Education and author of the new book White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay. Prior to her involvement in social activism, Star Parker was a single welfare mother in Los Angeles, California. After receiving Christ, Star returned to college, received a BS degree in marketing and launched an urban Christian magazine.

5 Responses
to “Romney is wrong candidate for GOP”

Both Romney and Huntsman are slick characters and non-starters. Let’s not forget that Democrats like Romney. Bachmann, Santorum, and Cain have principles and love this country. I’m afraid no other candidate can match Newt’s intelligence and competency. Perry? Dunno.

Both Romney and Huntsman are slick characters and non-starters. Let’s not forget that Democrats like Romney. Bachmann, Santorum, and Cain have principles and love this country. I’m afraid no other candidate can match Newt’s intelligence and competency. Perry? Dunno.

This is all well and good (the Romney part), but who among the Republicans can do all of this. I can’t see any of them alone beating the president. The latest, Rick Perry, may have permanently damaged Texas’ educational system. I lived in MN when Tim was govenor and he took a great state and made it mediocre. The rest of he pack have yet to ‘catch on’ among Republicans and you expect the ‘rest of us’ to be excited about electing them?

I agree with the thrust of your article, Star. However, our economic situation is dynamic in nature, not static. We need leadership in both spending cuts and revenue production. On the one hand, we keep flushing tax dollars into bottomless pits like the Department of Energy, while on the other hand we aren’t allowed to extract our own natural resources. No problems solved. New problems created. We need leaders who think of America first, last and always, not toadies for the globalists. We need leaders who really represent Americans, not just give us lip service.

As far as being able to crunch the numbers you are talking about (entitlements that benefit most Americans) you can’t find anyone more qualified to do that than former math major, Herman Cain. But will the American voter ever stop being taken in by glitzy marketing? As a combat veteran of the war in Viet Nam, I know that real heroes don’t look like the super-humans portrayed in the movies. It’s not what you look like or what you say that makes you a hero. It’s what you do. America needs a “can do” President, a man or woman of action, not just a celebrity who talks a good talk.